Wed Aug 06, 2003 11:25 am by BardicHeart
Well... you sort of can if you are a little patient and have a bit of luck. Watch for other freighter convoys that have escorts of their own. When you spot one, hail it and they will tell you where they are headed. If they are going your way, use F4 to join the formation and off you go. If you get attacked, most likely they will help defend you (the pirates will attack them too so its really mutal defense). Its not quite the same as having your own escort, but it helps. With convoys of 3-4 ships, plus yours, that can be a lot of firepower for a few pirates to take on. Also, they take care of navigation leaving you free to man your turrets and scan for hostiles. The more hostiles you blast on their initial approach (most make their first pass in a pretty straight line), the better your odds are.
Note that you will lose the formation if you go through a jump gate so you need to follow quickly to rejoin the formation.